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SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

 

Services for Students with Disabilities coordinates services for "qualified" students with disabilities who self-identify and request services or reasonable accommodation.  Reasonable accommodation(s) is(are) decided on a case-by-case basis.

Pellissippi State complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).  According to Section 504 and ADA, "a person with a disability is someone who has a disability that impairs a major life function, who has a history of having a disability, and/or who is regarded as having a disability."

 

I.  Services for Students with Disabilities Role:

A.     Prospective and new students about the availability of services and how to self-identify.

B.     Meet with students who self-identify as having a disability to develop an individual academic accommodation plan if appropriate.

C.     Maintain confidential student files.

D.     Identify the physical or academic barriers for students with disabilities.  Be an advocate for the removal of the barriers.

E.      Identify adaptive equipment, community resources, etc. for students with disabilities.  Provide information on appropriate and reasonable accommodations, and refer students to appropriate resources.

F.      Serve as a liaison between students with disabilities and faculty/staff, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and other agencies.

G.     Provide activities or resource materials for Pellissippi State faculty and staff; promote awareness about students with disabilities.

H.     Serve as an advocate for students with disabilities.

I.        Participate in community disability related committees or events.

 

II.     Faculty Role

 

All faculty are required to allow and/or to provide reasonable accommodation for students with documented disabilities.

The faculty member will:

A.     Provide or permit the reasonable and appropriate accommodation(s) as recommended for each student as outlined in the accommodation plan from Services for Students with Disabilities.

B.     Meet with the student to discuss the academic accommodations that are requested or recommended by Services for Students with Disabilities.

C.     Consult with Services for Students with Disabilities for clarification of a student's accommodation plan and/or on any issue related to reasonable accommodation.

D.     Maintain confidentiality of student accommodation requests.

E.      Refer students to Services for Students with Disabilities who request accommodations but have not self-identified or who do not have a written Accommodation Plan.

F.      Consult with Services for Students with Disabilities if a student with a disability exhibits inappropriate or disruptive classroom behavior.

G.     Other than providing the appropriate accommodations, treat the student with a disability the same as other students.

H.     Consult with Services for Students with Disabilities and or with the Director of Human Resources and Affirmative Action officer (ADA coordinator) if any outside agency or attorney contacts you regarding a student with a disability.

 

III.   Student With Disability Role

 

Students with disabilities are invited to self-identify.  Students who request services must provide documentation that will support the need for services or accommodations.

 

The student:

 

A.     May voluntarily disclose his/her disability and provide current documentation of the disability, that includes a diagnosis and information regarding functional limitations.

B.     Must meet with Services for Students with Disabilities each semester that an accommodation may be needed.

C.     Must provide the Accommodation Plan Form to each his/her instructor(s) and discuss the recommended accommodations with the instructor.

D.     Should notify Services for Students with Disabilities immediately if there is any question or dispute about a reasonable academic accommodation request.

E.      Must comply with all Pellissippi State disciplinary rules and policies as outlined in the current Pellissippi State Student Catalog and Handbook.

 

IV.  Accommodations/Services

 

All accommodations and services for students with disabilities are coordinated on a case-by-case basis by Services for Students With Disabilities in Goins Administration Building Rooms 125, 127 and 131.  Assistance with disability issues is available by appointment.

 

A.     Adaptive equipment

Special equipment may be available at each campus.  Students are permitted to use campus adaptive equipment on a first-come, first-served basis.  Students may use his/her own adaptive equipment, as indicated on the accommodation plan.  Use of campus adaptive equipment is limited to people with disabilities.

 

B.     Applications for Recording for Blind and Dyslexic, Tennessee Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled

Applications for these programs are available in Services for Students with Disabilities.

C.     Extended time for tests/assignments

If appropriate, students with documented disabilities may have extended time for tests or assignments.  Time allowed is determined on a case-by-case basis and is documented on the student's accommodation plan.  Additionally, alternative testing may be recommended.  The extended time allows a student to compensate for a disability.  Appropriate testing sites are classrooms, conference rooms, quiet offices or the testing center.

D.     Liaison with Vocational Rehabilitation

Many students with disabilities receive support (an academic scholarship) from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR).  Communication with V.R. staff is conducted on a regular basis.  Students who receive support are required to meet V.R. eligibility requirements.

 

E.      Notetaker and Tape recorder

Special notepaper is provided at no cost to the student who volunteers as a notetaker as determined by the faculty.  Having a notetaker does not relieve the student from the responsibility to attend class.  Students are permitted to bring tape recorders to tape lectures for personal study, if indicated on the personal accommodations plan.

F.      Priority Registration

Students with disabilities who have needs that require advance planning may participate in priority registration conducted one week in advance of regular registration.  Determination of eligibility for priority registration will be made by Services for Students with Disabilities staff on a case-by case basis.

G.     Reader and Tape Recorded Test

Qualified students, upon request, and approval may have a reader or may have a tape recorded test.  Guidelines and procedures for using the reader service must be followed.

 

H.     Reduced tuition rates for permanently disabled students

A reduced tuition rate is available for Tennessee residents who meet the requirements of the Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-3251.  Obtain eligibility form from Services for Students with Disabilities.  Completed forms should be returned to Students with Disabilities.

 

I.        Referral to community services

When appropriate, referrals are made to community or other agencies.

 

J.       Scribe or Assistant

Qualified students may have a scribe or an assistant for lab, etc.

 

K.    Sign language interpreter

Qualified interpreters are provided for students who are deaf or hearing impaired.  Students must request interpreters for college extracurricular activities or for meetings with faculty or staff.  It is the student's responsibility to notify the interpreter or Services for Students with Disabilities staff when the student will be absent from class.  Twenty-four hours notice is required.  Sign language interpreting services will be temporarily suspended after two no-shows or last-minute cancellations.  The service can be restored only after a student meets with a Services for Students with Disabilities staff member.  If the student can document an emergency or other situation that prevents 24 hours notice of absence, allowances may be made for suspension of services at the discretion of Services for Students with Disabilities.

 

L.      TDD

TDD service is available in the security office of the main campus, and the Assistant Dean's office at the other campuses or teaching site.

 

M.   Tutoring

The College is not required to provide tutors under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  Tutors are a “personal service” that the college provides to support students in their academic efforts.  Tutors are intended to support the student to achieve “average” grades in the subject area assigned.

 

N.    Academic Modifications

Pellissippi State Technical Community College will consider requests for academic modifications from “qualified” students with documented disabilities on a case-by-case basis.  (A “qualified” student is a student with a documented disability who meets the academic and technical standards requisite to admission and participation in Pellissippi State’s academic programs and activities.)  The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 regulations Section 104.44(a) of 34 C.F.R. state that “postsecondary educational institutions may be required to modify their academic requirements to ensure that they do not discriminate, or have the effect of discriminating against a qualified disabled student.  In addition, academic requirements that the college can demonstrate are essential to the program of instruction being pursued by the student or to any directly related licensing requirement will not be regarded as discriminatory.”

 

Students must make written requests for academic modifications to Services for Students with Disabilities.  The student must provide information related to the specific course(s) for which a modification is requested and must also provide written documentation that supports the student’s need for the modification.  Documentation of the need for an academic modification must give specific, factual information that validates the need.  The documentation may include, but is not limited to, educational/psychological testing related to the student’s potential academic performance in the specific academic area, transcripts of the requesting student’s history of academic performance, statement of the requesting student’s major area of study, and other supportive documentation.

 

Upon receipt of the written request, Services for Students with Disabilities will prepare the documentation for review and schedule a meeting of the Academic Modifications Committee.  Documentation will include the student’s name, address, college-wide identification number, specific disability, grade point average, transcript(s), and other relevant information.  The Academic Modifications Committee will review and decide the appropriate academic modifications, if any.  Members of the Academic Modifications Committee include the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs, Director of Services for Students with Disabilities, the academic department head of the student’s major area, designated faculty, staff and other appropriate individuals as determined by the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs.  Services for Students with Disabilities will notify the student of the final decision.

 

Once a precedent-setting decision has been made regarding whether a course is essential to a specific academic program, the Director of Services for Students with Disabilities may request permission from the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs to grant the same modification for requests by students meeting the same criteria as those in the precedent-setting decision without calling a meeting of an Academic Modifications Committee.  In all cases the Director of Services for Students with Disabilities will provide the Vice President with a summary document as outlined in this policy when requesting permission to grant the modification.  The Vice President shall then have the option of allowing the modification by the Director or calling a meeting of an Academic Modification Committee.

 

Academic modifications apply only to a specific course(s) as determined by the Committee and are only granted as long as the student’s declared major area of study remains unchanged.  Academic modifications are specific to Pellissippi State and do not apply to other colleges or articulation agreements negotiated with other colleges.

 

V.     Formal Grievance Procedure

 

Any Pellissippi State student with a disability who has reason to feel that he or she has been affected by discrimination should contact the Director of Human Resources and Affirmative Action officer, ADA, 504 Title II and Title IX Coordinator, in the Goins Administration Building, Room 204 or call (865) 694-6607.

 

VI. Services for Students with Disabilities Office

 

For additional information on services, questions about Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or about the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, contact Services for Students with Disabilities or the office may be accessed at the Goins Administration Building, Rooms 125, 127 and 131 or by calling (865)694-6751 Voice/TDD or (865)539-7153.

 

VII. Students With a Seizure Disorder

 

Students who have a seizure disorder should self-identify to Services for Students with Disabilities, Room 131 in the Goins Administration Building. In order to receive services, the student should provide recent documentation of the seizure disorder.  Services for Students with Disabilities recommends that students inform their instructors in writing of procedures they want in place in the event of a seizure.  If students do not inform them, instructors will follow the College policy on emergencies.

 

VIII. Guidelines For Documentation Of A Specific Learning Disability

 

These guidelines are provided in the interest of assuring that LD documentation is appropriate to verify eligibility and to support requests for accommodations, academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids.  They are consistent with current national standards for post secondary education.

 

It is the student's responsibility to provide documentation to Services for Students With Disabilities.  Students are encouraged to identify themselves to the office, but are not required to do so.  If a student chooses not to reveal a disability, Services for Students with Disabilities cannot provide services or accommodations to the student.

 

A.     Qualifications of the Evaluator

Professionals conducting assessments, rendering diagnoses of learning disabilities, and making recommendations for appropriate accommodations must be qualified to do so.  The following professionals would generally be considered qualified to evaluate specific learning disabilities provided that they have additional training and experience in the assessment of learning problems in adolescents and adults: clinical or educational psychologists, school psychologists, neuropsychologists, learning disabilities specialists, medical doctors, and other professionals.  Use of diagnostic terminology indicating a learning disability by someone whose training and experience are not in these fields is not acceptable.  All documentation must include the name, title, and credentials of the evaluator.  (All reports should be on letterhead, typed, dated, signed and otherwise legible.)  It is not considered appropriate for professionals to evaluate members of their families.

 

B.     Documentation should contain the following:

1.      Diagnostic Interview

An evaluation should include the summary of a diagnostic interview.  It may include a description of the presenting problems; developmental, medical, psycho-social and employment histories; family history and a discussion of co-morbid conditions where indicated.

 

2.      Assessment

The evaluation must provide clear and specific evidence that a learning disability does or does not exist.  Assessment and diagnosis should be based on a comprehensive assessment battery which does not rely on any one test or subtest.  A substantial limitation to learning or other major life activity must be provided.  Tests should be reliable, valid and standardized for use with the adolescent/adult population.  Commonly used tests include the following:

 

C.     Tests for Assessing Adolescents and Adults

Test instruments should be reliable, valid, and standardized on an appropriate norm group.

 

1.      Aptitude

a.  Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-III)

b.  Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised: Test of Cognitive Ability

c.  Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test (KAIT)

d.  Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (4th ed.)